US looks to Iraq strategy for Afghanistan
KABUL — With the withdrawal of the final American combat brigade from Iraq, US commanders in Afghanistan are hoping to emulate a strategy used there as they step up the war against insurgents. The number of US and Nato soldiers in Afghanistan is set to peak at 150,000 in coming weeks following orders from US President Barack Obama for an extra 30,000 troops, a “surge” aimed at speeding the end of the war. Critics say his goal to start drawing down the US presence from mid-2011 is unrealistic, as Afghanistan’s security forces are not up to the task of taking charge of the war-torn country. The 2007 US troop surge in Iraq built on moves the year before to co-opt Sunni tribal militias and turn them against their former al-Qaeda allies. Violence peaked, but the United States was soon able to capitalize on the two-pronged approach and turn around the war, which had raged increasingly out of control since the 2003 overthrow of Saddam Hussein. Now Washington is hoping the war in Afghanistan — deadlier than ever and already two years older than the Iraq conflict — can benefit from a similar strategy. Source: The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100824com6.html |
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